Luggage fees a sore spot. Who knew?

So, it seems safe to assume that any list of traveler gripes about airlines would have to be topped by “flight delays” or “long lines for security or check-in.” Right?

Think again.

Not only is neither plight the No. 1 gripe, according to a survey by the cheerful folks at Consumer Reports, they didn’t even make the top five spots. The survey results, published in June edition of Consumer Report magazine (released Tuesday), includes more than a few surprises, as well as a few predictable items.

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Filed under less surprising: The top two airline-related gripes were “luggage charges” and “added fees,” a seemingly direct response to continued increases for checked luggage and the recent fire storm over a decision by Spirit Air to charge for roll-aboard carry-ons.

(About the only thing that would make Spirit Air less popular right now — which is not to say they ever qualified for the word “popular” to begin with — would be if company executives were found directly responsible for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.)

The results are based on a phone survey of 2,000 people, who were asked to rank common travel gripes on a 10-point scale in three categories: airlines, hotels and rental cars.

In an odd twist, survey respondents ranked “Flight delays” as less annoying than “Poor communication about flight delays.” The take-away message: We understand that crap happens, but you need to tell us that it’s happening, why and when it’s going to stop happening.

Probably the most news worthy finding is that the top complaint in the hotel and rental car categories (and third among airlines) is “Rude or unhelpful staff.” The upshot: You can put Bulgari products and 600-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets in every room, but if worker is cranky, snooty or otherwise useless, that’s what travelers will remember.